Boat, Bumper and Desks

Taking it from the top: 

Worked on the boat a little bit this weekend. The bottom and transom are ready for some sanding on the interior side and then I can glue and screw them together. I ran a couple of the side planks thru the planer to see what I was going to be up against on that part of the job. It's going to be a little tricky to pull the front in without cracking the planks - looks like I might have to get the steam box out. I have the board clamped up and marked, so after cutting it I'll see what it looks like. I have the set-up for steaming and have done a couple things in the past. The wood bends really easily after it has been steamed for a while. If that's what it takes, OK. On a side note, I went to the non-motorized transportation meeting the other night and they were looking primarily for input on bicycle, jogging and equine paths, as well as canoe trails. They mentioned the Iroquois River and the little light came on. That's close by and would make a nice maiden voyage for the boat. A couple of days on the river could be fun - the Traveling Pirate might want to tag along with her kayak.

Photo two is a bumper one of my students made for his Jeep. He put this one together at the welding shop where he works part-time but wanted to bring it in and show it to me and grind/sand it down a little. The kid does some pretty good work. He and another student are finishing up the big-ass log splitter that's been sitting in the shop for a couple of years. They've only got a couple of more things to tack together then it'll be ready for finish welding and out the door. That's if I can find the guy it belongs to. He hasn't been around for a couple of years.

Photo three is this week's collection of broken desks. I don't mind fixing them but damn, you would think someone might be taking an interest in how they're getting broken. It's deliberate damage. The fools sit in them and push back until the seat back falls off or it will break when someone tries to bend it back. 

Photo four is like the elephant graveyard for desks. I need to go in there and scab some screws off a couple of the seat bases so we can repair the broken desktop in photo #3. The desks have screws with a real aggressive thread to hold the seats and tops on. Of course the screws always get lost before they get to me.

Tying in to my last post, The Wall Street Journal had an article in Saturday's paper addressing the underlying cause of much of what I've been seeing. In What's Wrong with the Teenage Mind? they discuss how kids reach puberty earlier but adulthood later. It must be that everybody who's anybody has finally figured out that something is definitely wrong with the young-uns and people are trying to make sense of it all. They describe the result as a lot of teenage weirdness. I'd have to agree with that. The solution? Like the comment Traveling Pirate left on the last post: have them take auto shop. Should start way before that, actually. You never know, we might see the return of Sloyd and Manual Training. We could do a lot worse -  just look at what we're doing now.

Supposed to get a little warmer the next few days. I've got some work to get done in my shop at home and I want to start on the electric for the barn. Should be in the high 40's instead of the 5 degree temps we usually get this time of year. Maybe come straight home from work and get some things done. Regardless of the weather, I've got plenty to keep me busy.